We had two jars of Maple Syrup. The store bought one is Vermont Maple Leaf Syrup, amber grade. The other is Indiana 100% pure McGuire Grade–maybe light Amber. It is lighter in color than the Vermont syrup.
Momma put the two syrups in two cups. We each got a spoonful of each. We tasted them to see which one was runnier, lighter in color, and which one tasted better.
Everyone knew which one was the home made because it looked and ran different. The home made was runnier and lighter in color. Daddy thought it was quite a bit runnier.
I think both of them tasted good. We will boil ours down some more before canning it, but it is good as it is. Our next batch will be closer to the right thickness the first time hopefully.
We got some plastic taps and tubes last year. When we were sure the sap was dripping–the weather was warming up–we went outside, bored a hole in our Maple tree and put the taps in. We put some holes in the lids of some milk jugs, put the tubes in the hole, put the lids on the milk jugs, and let it sit in a bucket. That way if it overflowed, we would not lose it all.
Then we collected the sap for a week and on Monday started to boil it down. We started out doing it inside–which is not recommended unless you do not mind a very humid house– and then moved it outside when we got the outside stove done.
The stove was easy to make if you can carry the cinder blocks. We took four cinder blocks and put them in two rows with a separation between it. We used the racks from our oven to hold the pots. (We learned not to use your good cooking pots because it gets all sooty and black. Daddy bought us some 14 quart flat pans for our next batch. We will try soaping the bottoms of the pan to see if that helps.) Daddy designed a chimney. If smoke gets in the sap, the syrup does not taste very good. Then you put a fire under it and boil the sap.
Then you sit around and make sure the fire keeps going. Try to persuade your Mom to let you roast sausages and invite neighbors to see what you are doing. Do not put cold sap with hot sap, it could make the syrup darker. The darker the syrup is the less fancy it is. We used two pots and poured the boiling sap in the large container when there was room. Take off foam when it boils. When it is almost syrup, you strain it to get the sugar sand out. Then you finish boiling it. We checked to see if it was done by seeing how it ran on the spoon and tasting it! It took all day to boil it all down and some of the next day.
Let it sit overnight, keeping it cool. Heat it to 180 degrees and can it in sterilized jelly jars. When you are hungry you make pancakes or waffles. Put them on your plate and cover them with your maple syrup. Enjoy!
Last Saturday, Momma finally let me get a mohawk. Which only lasted for about 12 hours before Daddy cut it off. 
I wish we could have cut my hair on Friday, and cut the mohawk off on Saturday. Other then my ears get a lot colder outside, it is a lot easier to take care of now!
(Did you like the green hair? Daddy taught me how to Gimp it).
Here is a new picture of my haircut. Hope you enjoyed my joke!
I have been wanting a mohawk for a very long time.
Momma really doesn’t like mohawks. I asked Daddy if I could and he said to ask Momma. Momma wasn’t really paying attention when I asked her, and said “Sure, if Daddy says okay.”
Last time Momma let me cut my hair, I tried to cut a mohawk, but I got a thin little stripe down the middle. Daddy cut my hair and made a mohawk! Then he added the green hair gel.
When Momma saw me, she started giggling and said “shave it off!” Daddy had heard when I asked Momma permission and said “You said that he could”. So, I have a Mohawk!
Ducky did not win Best of show 
, but I like Reece’s car the best!
When we got to the Pinewood Derby, Mr. Linley checked my car, it was to heavy. We carved a lot out of the back. I did not think it looked good until Cardin said that it looked like a jet engine! Then I thought it looked better.
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Today we went outside in the snow. I built a snow fort, more like a snow cave, with a little bit of help from the girls. Adrian helped a little bit too. I made it because when we shovel out the driveway, we put the snow on the side by the Japanese Maple Tree. Every year we use this snow as a sledding hill or a snow cave. This year Andrea got the shovel out and started shoveling part of it out. When I came out, she got tired of doing what she was doing, so I asked if she would pack it around. Audrey came out and wanted to help. We kept on trading jobs. When the girls got tired of doing it, I kept working.
When I finished it, everybody tried it out. I spent the most time in it.
Momma was not able to get the pictures with Adrian and Andrea in it though Maybe later if it does not collapse. Hopefully it does not collapse!
We went to Daddy’s cousin’s house in Canada. They invited some friends over for New Years. We ate meatballs and Kabli Pulao. Kabli Pulau is a special rice from Afganistan that tastes very good. For New Years we stayed up until midnight! We got to try Korean rice cakes. I did not like them.
Then we had a Korean Birthday party the next morning. We had Korean Soup made with rice cakes and seaweed. The noodles were called mantu and were like wontons. Everything tasted really good except for the rice cakes.
Auntie Josette and Auntie Nicole taught me how to make fried plantains. Plantains are like bananas but firmer.
They are good with hot sauce on the side or crema, according to Auntie Josette. I have not tried them with creama ( I don’t know what creama is) a or hot sauce yet–I think she meant more Tabasco Sauce.
- Cut and cube Plantains. You could also quarter them.
- Add Tabasco sauce and salt to taste
- Saute’ until golden
- Drain on paper towel
- Let cool just till you can eat them
eat
Despite what others have claimed, WE got our first snow today! I am getting ready to go outside right now and enjoy it!
What others think